Bisha Mine | Overview
Project Overview
Bisha is a large precious and base metal-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit located 150km west of Asmara, Eritrea, East Africa. Deposit mineralization consists of gold and silver oxides, in addition to copper and zinc massive sulphides. The project benefits from the strong support of the Government of Eritrea and good local road and port infrastructure.
The Bisha Mine began construction in September 2008 and declared commercial production in February 2011. The mine is a low-cost gold producer for the first two years, and a high-grade copper concentrate and zinc producer for the remaining mine life. View Resource and Reserves.
After depletion from 2011, the estimated remaining payable production from the Bisha mine is 330,000 ounces of gold, 10,300,000 ounces of silver, 860,000,000 pounds of copper and 1,890,000,000 pounds of zinc.
Bisha's mining and exploration licenses cover a contiguous area of 86 km2. The Bisha Mine and North West zone are both located within the 16.5 km2 Bisha mining license and the Harena satellite deposit lies in a separate 7.5km2 mining license. The North West zone has yet to be drilled for resource (underway) and several other geophysical anomalies that have yet to be tested on the licenses.
The State of Eritrea has a free carried 10% interest plus an additional 30% paid participating interest for a total of 40% interest in Bisha. The interest will be paid over time, out of Bisha cash distributions. For more information see our most recent Financial Statements and MD&A.
Commercial Production Schedule
Per July 2012 resource and reserve news release the payable production profile is as follows:
|
Years |
2012 (1) |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
|
|
Oxide Phase |
Supergene Phase |
Supergene
& Primary Overlap(3) |
Primary Phase (2) |
||||||||||
|
Gold |
146,000 oz |
36,000 oz |
32,000 oz |
121,000 oz |
||||||||||
|
Silver |
221,000 oz |
1,600,000 oz |
1,560,000 oz |
6,940,000 oz |
||||||||||
|
Copper |
|
317 Mlbs |
242 Mlbs |
301
Mlbs |
||||||||||
|
Zinc |
|
|
146 Mlbs |
1,740 Mlbs |
||||||||||
- (1) From May 31, 2012. Total gold production in 2012 is forecast at 280,000 to 300,000 ounces including Harena oxides. It is anticipated that the Oxide Phase will extend through Q1 2013, when the gold plant will be shutdown to commence supergene phase commissioning.
- (2) Includes Harena sulphides.
- (3) The mine plan for the purposes of reserves determination contemplates a period of co-processing supergene and primary ores but Bisha has not made a final determination on this approach. Bisha will continue to evaluate and will advise if and when the approach is adopted.
Note: table above is payable production over the time period indicated. Bisha supergene copper phase is in construction and copper concentrate production is expected in mid-2013.
Bisha Mine Project Milestones
8 years from Discovery to Production
| January 2003 | Discovery |
| October 2006 | Feasibility Study |
| December 2006 | Social and Environmental Impact Assessment |
| June 2007 | EPCM contractor selected (SENET), engineering commenced |
| October 2007 | State participation agreed (10% free carried + 30% interest to be purchased at fair value by Eritrean National Mining Company |
| December 2007 | Mining and stabilization agreements completed with Eritrean Government |
| January 2008 | Mining license granted |
| February 2008 | Orders placed for critical equipment |
| August 2008 | SENET mobilized to site and site clearing and heavy earth moving started |
| December 2009 | Mills delivered |
| March 2010 | Ball and Sag Mill assembled and set in place Pre-Strip mining commenced |
| April 2010 | Installation of the liner in the tailings management facility commenced |
| June 2010 | Completion of structural steel and plate-work |
| October 2010 | Plant Commissioning initiated, Power Plant commissioned |
| December 2010 | First Gold Pour |
| February 2011 | Commercial Production Declared; on time and under budget |
